Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Citigroup

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target hoisted by analysts at Citigroup from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the pipeline company’s stock. Citigroup‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 0.92% from the company’s previous close.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (a)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.90.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX traded up $0.27 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.52. 3,328,953 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,752. Mplx has a 52 week low of $50.22 and a 52 week high of $60.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.33 and a 200 day moving average of $57.25. The stock has a market cap of $57.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.48.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.02. Mplx had a return on equity of 30.27% and a net margin of 32.91%. The company had revenue of $3.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advus Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Advus Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,191 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,069 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 0.9% during the third quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 25,046 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Mplx by 81.5% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 559 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) is a master limited partnership that owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure in the United States. The company provides services for the gathering, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

MPLX’s assets include crude oil and refined-products pipelines, natural gas gathering and processing systems, NGL fractionation facilities, storage terminals and marine transportation infrastructure. Through its logistics and storage operations, the company supports the movement of hydrocarbons from producing regions to refineries, export facilities and other domestic markets.

The company serves several major U.S.